02.17.18 “Holy Grail: a thing that is being earnestly pursued or sought after.” In my case it’s been a 4-5 yr pursuit to find probably the rarest of all Pentax lenses, the SMC 28/f2.0. I’m sure only a very few of you have heard of it. It’s a great story that I’m probably going to write about in more detail. But here’s a synopsis. It was produced in ‘75 through a collaboration with Zeiss to coincide with the launch of Pentax’s first K-mount camera, the K1000. The Pentax Zeiss partnership lasted only a year, and Zeiss then joined forces with Yashica to build cameras. Despite the Pentax name on the lens barrel, the optics are actually a Distagon 28/2.0. I have a lot more history about the lens, which if you’re interested in, I’ll try to write up over the next few weeks. The other thing about my pursuit of this lens, which hardly ever comes up for sale, is that this sample is actually new old stock (NOS) that was never used and came with all packaging, paperwork and lens case. I figure the chances of my finding one like this are the same as winning the lottery. More to come. #pentax#pentaxfun#pentaxian#pentaxians#pentaxiansunite#pentaxiansstandup#pentaxk5iis#lensculture#vintagecamera#vintagecameras#asahioptical#manualfocus#vintagelens#manuallens#classiclens#asahipentax#distagon28mm#legacylens#zeissdistagon

02.17.18 “Holy Grail: a thing that is being earnestly pursued or sought after.” In my case it’s been a 4-5 yr pursuit to find probably the rarest of all Pentax lenses, the SMC 28/f2.0. I’m sure only a very few of you have heard of it. It’s a great story that I’m probably going to write about in more detail. But here’s a synopsis. It was produced in ‘75 through a collaboration with Zeiss to coincide with the launch of Pentax’s first K-mount camera, the K1000. The Pentax Zeiss partnership lasted only a year, and Zeiss then joined forces with Yashica to build cameras. Despite the Pentax name on the lens barrel, the optics are actually a Distagon 28/2.0. I have a lot more history about the lens, which if you’re interested in, I’ll try to write up over the next few weeks. The other thing about my pursuit of this lens, which hardly ever comes up for sale, is that this sample is actually new old stock (NOS) that was never used and came with all packaging, paperwork and lens case. I figure the chances of my finding one like this are the same as winning the lottery. Anyhow, this is one of my first photos taken with the lens at f/2.0 of my Swiss doll that’s almost as old as the lens and a figure I’ve used frequently to test lenses. No editing of the image (except adjusting histogram) as I’m trying to get a baseline of how the lens will perform in its natural state. More to come. #pentax#pentaxfun#pentaxian#pentaxians#pentaxiansunite#pentaxiansstandup#pentaxk5iis#lensculture#vintagecamera#vintagecameras#asahioptical#manualfocus#vintagelens#manuallens#classiclens#asahipentax#distagon28mm#zeissdistagon#legacylens